In addition to recent multistate comments filed on PFAS chemicals, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul recently joined a multistate coalition supporting state net metering programs and a coalition filing an antitrust lawsuit against generic drug manufacturers.

Net Metering

AG Kaul, along with 16 other attorneys general, is urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reject a petition to essentially end state oversight of net metering programs. Net metering allows utility customers using solar power to offset their utility bills by the amount of power their solar panels add to the grid.

New England Ratepayers Association petitioned FERC asking that it declare net metering compensation is actually a wholesale sale of energy and therefore the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over such net metering programs. The AGs’ comments ask FERC to deny that petition. The AGs argue that states should continue to have the authority to implement net metering programs, which encourage clean energy while lowering bills for solar customers, and the federal government shouldn’t interfere with those programs.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice says 45 states, including Wisconsin, have net metering programs in place. According to WisPolitics, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates there are 4,827 total residential, commercial and industrial net metering customers in Wisconsin.

Generic Drug Manufacturers

AG Kaul joined a coalition of 50 states filing a lawsuit stemming from an antitrust investigation into generic drug manufacturers. This latest lawsuit in that investigation focuses on 80 topical generic drugs from 26 corporate defendants, alleging unfair competition has inflated prices. Two other lawsuits stemming from the antitrust investigation had been previously filed, and the investigation is ongoing.